Giving Compass' Take:

• Nicola Pritchard, writing for Alliance Magazine, discusses what funders in the United Kingdom are doing to support local organizations and charities. 

• How can community activism help spur support for regional organizations? 

• Read some of the barriers for nonprofit organizations during this time.

In a crisis like this, the places where we live become more important than ever. Most immediately, coordinating protection and support for the most vulnerable is the critical challenge for local charities, their funders, local public bodies, and a growing army of mutual aid volunteers. In the medium term, we will need to make sure that these bodies—our local social infrastructure—can survive and continue supporting local people during the economic downturn that is likely to follow.

None of this is easy or straightforward, especially when there is already a huge surge in demand for services. The current crisis is a real threat to the survival of many charities. Some rely on trading and local fundraising activities for their income. Others depend on local government or trust funding which could be delayed or even halted.

Although the government has signalled a support package for charities, it’s been slow to materialise. If charities aren’t supported in the medium term, we may well see many of them close. These closures may not fall evenly across the country. NPC’s Where are England’s Charities? analysis showed how there is already an uneven dispersal of charities across the country, with deprived places having far less charities than more wealthy areas. So, it is entirely possible that the current crisis could further embed these disparities and leave some communities with even less social support at this critical time.

As the situation continues to evolve, we don’t yet know exactly what local charities and groups will need over the coming months. But four areas we think funders should think about are:

  • Targeting support in places with fewer charities and less social infrastructure.
  • Helping to facilitate better coordination of activity.
  • Supporting forgotten issues.
  • Maintaining the groundswell of local action.

Read the full article about funders can offer support to local organizations by Nicola Pritchard at Alliance Magazine.